The Ash Grove
by Amerath's Destiny
Summary: The knight Terra has recently returned from fighting Heartless on the border of the kingdom of Radiant Garden. When he returns, he meets the mysterious Lady Aqua, who is much more than she appears to be... Terra x Aqua, AU.


"_Terra! Come and play!" The little boy darted away energetically. He had always been the faster of the two, even though he was younger. Today, his tousled blond head was quickly disappearing into the trees._

"_Ven! No fair! You were supposed to give me a head start this time!" Terra raced after him into the grove of trees. His brown hair was in stark contrast with his adopted brother's lighter one._

_He chased his friend through the trees, though a little slower. When Ven slowed down, Terra managed to catch up and tackle him. The two rolled on the ground together, before collapsing and laughing as if they didn't have a care in the world._

Slowly, Terra opened his eyes. It was all the same. The grass swayed gently in the wind, and flies buzzed lazily through the sparse forest. The ash trees cast dappled shadows upon the ground. And, if he closed his eyes like he had been earlier, he could almost hear the cheerful shrieks of his childhood friends.

But it wasn't the same. Everything was different. Well, maybe that wasn't true. Maybe it was all still the same. Maybe it was _him _that was different.

Well, he had changed quite a bit since he had last visited this forest. He had grown older - four years, to be exact. Four years since he had officially become a knight. Four years since he had been sent away from the palace to fight the Heartless. Four years since he had last seen any of his friends.

Of course, now he was back. Back and stronger than ever.

He quietly dismounted his horse. "Stay, Timber," he patted the brown gelding, who flicked his ears forward before bending down the graze.

It _was _him who had changed, he thought as he walked. He could still walk though the pathways of the forest with his eyes closed, using only his memory and his senses. There was the hole in the ground that Ven had stuck a stick into (who knows why?) only to aggravate a swarm of bees. There was the beaten trail they had raced down, where Ven had sometimes let him win. Sometimes.

But there was one more place Terra definitely wanted to see before he left to report back to the palace. When he was nine, Zack had dared him to climb the tallest tree in the forest. He had done it, of course. (He could never refuse a dare.) Unfortunately, he had gotten stuck up there, and his father had to go get him down.

The tree was still exactly where he remembered it, in a small clearing near the center of the forest. Its trunk rose proudly into the sky, and its branches waved to greet him in the wind.

But, there was one thing that was new.

On the lowest branch of the tree, which was still a good eight or nine feet off the ground, sat a boy. His hair was covered by a cap, and he wore a gray vest over a white shirt with black breeches. Strangest of all, he wore no shoes, showing off rather small and delicate feet. A book rested in his lap, and his eyes were closed. He appeared to be asleep. That was weird. Terra didn't know very many boys that would climb trees just to read and sleep.

However, as he approached the tree, the strain against the chest area of his shirt and vest betrayed the fact that Terra was definitely _not_ looking at a boy.

For a moment, the young knight paused to get a better look at the young woman. Yes, it was definitely a her. Her delicate, feminine features, small stature, tiny feet, and, ahem, _other assets _proved this. She appeared to be just a little younger than him. But why would she be dressed as a man? Perhaps she was a commoner and her family couldn't afford any other clothing than, say, a hand-me-down from an older sibling.

Still, he couldn't leave the girl to sleep in a tree. She could fall!

So, he decided to call up to her. "Excuse me, miss. Are you lost?"

All the reply he got was a cry of surprise. Her eyes (a pretty shade of blue, he noticed) flew open and stared at him in surprise. She tried to stand, most likely to flee. Unfortunately, she had forgotten that she was a good ways above the ground, and slipped, which was what prompted her shriek. Thankfully, Terra had quick reflexes due to years of training, and managed to catch her before she hit the ground. After realizing she hadn't broken her spine in a horrible, tragic fall, the young woman slowly opened her eyes.

Her reaction was not what Terra expected. She suddenly turned very, very red upon seeing his face and struggled out of his arms. "S-Sorry!" she managed to stutter out. She was probably embarrassed at being caught sleeping in a tree, and then, even worse, falling out of it.

"Are you all right, miss? That was quite a fall."

"Y-Yes! I'm fine." The young woman was slowly regaining her composure, and the fierce blush faded from her cheeks.

"Well, if you don't mind me asking, what were you doing up in the tree? I didn't think anyone came here anymore."

"They don't. At least, not as far as I know. I haven't ever seen anyone here in the time I've been coming here. Then again, I've only been coming here for a few weeks."

At this, Terra had to chuckle a little. "I used to come her all the time as a child. This ash grove…was sort of my secret place. Of course, I shared my secret place with my friends. We used to play all the time here." Normally, Terra wouldn't share this with anyone, but this was a common girl. After he left here, they would never see each other again, and no one would find out.

However, the young woman smiled warmly at him, her earlier embarrassment gone. "Would you be willing to share your secret place with me? I found this place while wandering a little while ago…It feels like its full of memories." Her smile turned slightly more mysterious, and her eyes took on a far away look.

"There are a lot of memories here." He couldn't help but smile back at her. She was silent, and merely tucked her book under her arm and sat down, patting the spot next to her.

"Tell me," she asked.

So he did. He told her of how he and his friends would skip training to race down here and play among the trees. He told her of the time they had stayed the night in the forest once, and had built a fire to scare away ghosts. He told her the story of getting stuck in the trees, and Ven getting chased by bees, and Zack getting lost in the woods. The entire time, she was quiet and listened, except for when she laughed when the stories took a turn for the comical, or when she asked questions to clarify. The entire time, those big blue eyes were fixed on him, completely fascinated with his stories.

Finally, Terra noticed the light in the forest had changed slightly. Though it was not yet sunset, the sun was low in the sky. But…he wasn't quite ready to leave quite yet.

"One moment, I have to check on something," he excused himself. Poor Timber had been waiting outside the forest for hours.

She nodded. "Before you leave…What's your name?"

"I'm not leaving yet! I have to check on my horse," he laughed. "And…my name is Terra." He turned and walked back down the trail. Still, he could have sworn he heard something as he left.

"Goodbye, Terra. It was nice meeting you…" She spoke so quietly, he wasn't sure if she had actually said something or if the wind was playing tricks on his ears.

When he returned, she was gone.

He would probably never see her again.

And he hadn't even remembered to ask her name.

I'm nuts. I'm nuts I'm nuts I'm nuts. I know I keep saying I'll write this...And I have. But I've also picked the worst possible time to start. I'm going on spring break next week, out of state, and I have to study for my THREE AP exams, which are in...um...three and four weeks, depending on which one.

In other words, don't expect fast updates for the next month. I'll try to get in one or two...But I'm already a bit of a slow writer. I will try though.

The other thing getting in my way: My book. I've promised myself I'd write a page a day at the least, and that takes priority. I'm pretty excited about it, because its epically cool.

Oh. Yes. Book. You should all go read it on FictionPress. I'm Avalon's Knight. The book is The Dragon and the Cat, but might be changed to Slave later on.

And yes, I know I'm a terribly person. I'M SUCH A SHAMELESS ADVERTISER. BOO HOO...

In any case, in case you don't already know, this fic derives inspiration from a song called "The Ash Grove". I heard it while people were doing solos at choir camp, and this fic popped into my head~ I believe its a Welsh folk song, and it has many different lyrics. Any version can technically go along with this fic.

By the way, I have about half a plotline idea here. So if you want to suggest, feel free!

Please review! They make me want to write faster.

~Night

Next Chapter: In which Terra returns home and greets an old friend.

In case anyone's wondering, this chapter would have been: In which Terra is a perv and can't tell the difference between genders.


End file.
